GOP Debate Delivers 5.4M Viewers for MSNBC

MSNBC aired the Republican presidential debate on
Wednesday night, drawing a total 5.4 million viewers and so far, becoming the
highest-rated Republican debate in 2011.

The GOP debate -- which was the first to feature Texas Gov. Rick Perry -- delivered 1.7 million in the key A25-54
demo, outranking three earlier Republican debates. After the debate, MSNBC's
team analysis drew 817,000 viewers in the A25-54 demo and 2.7 million total
viewers.

Earlier last week, conflict surrounded the debate as
President Obama announced his intention to speak to Congress on the same night;
the speech was subsequently moved to Friday.